In the next 10 seconds, without waiting to think, quickly write down 5 relaxation techniques that come to your mind. These are your most used & abused stress relief activities! Are you surprised?
Well for me, it’s a nice long hot bath, movie time curled up on my favorite couch and a cup of hot chocolate. Pure bliss. But, I’ve started adding some fun stress relief activities too that do not border so much on the lazy : D
These stress relief activities are not only fun but also carve out some much-deserved self-care time. And no, self-care doesn’t mean just scented candles & a hot bath. It also means some calm, reflective time when you can have a conversation with yourself. Instead of simply filling your mind up with information, you get the time to find out more about yourself –
- Your changed likes & dislikes.
- Your little wins that got lost in the buzz of bigger duties/responsibilities.
- How you really feel about something important.
Basically, having the time to date yourself.
But first let’s see what actually does help take the weight off of our brain, switch off that fight-or-flight stress response and platter up some much-needed relaxation & calm.
What helps relieve stress?
Broadly speaking, most stress relief activities can be grouped under one or other of these –
- Relaxing not only the body but mind too.
- Slowing down the pace of our life.
- Taking a break from everything that’s going on.
- Venting or sharing.
- Triggering happy memories.
- Being less self-judgmental.
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Stress relief activities that are fun & absolutely calming:
1. Just create something, anything:
Not an artistic person? No problem. The idea is to just give a much-needed time-out to the analytical part of our brain. So just doodle away, or do some finger painting, do scrapbooking or any DIY craftwork.
Did you know that some researchers believe repetitive motions while doodling or drawing relaxes the brain to a near-meditative state. That in itself sounds so soothing, doesn’t it?
When you’re focused on creating something, it distracts your mind from the issues stressing you out. You don’t have to display what you created if you’re not proud of it. Just let your creativity take over without
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2. Coloring books:
Yup, they really do work & are one of the most popular stress relief activities for adults. When you focus on filling up complex spaces with color, keeping the colors from bleeding out & concentrating on choosing the next color to fill, your brain switches from constant thinking & stressing out to focusing on the present.
This calms your brain by focusing on the moment. Colouring is such a simple activity that thoughts focused on it relaxes the brain. It reduces activity in
There is no minimum skill level required. So get yourself a pack of pencil colors & an adult coloring book, and you’re all set to create some masterpieces : D zoning out into a zen state of mind.
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3. Journaling:
There are many types of journals that you can keep. It might not be jump-around fun, but once you start keeping a journal, you’ll understand what the excitement around it’s all about.
Say for example, you keep a gratitude journal. It’ll be a positive distraction from all the things stressing you out plus, you get a handy book of personalized reminders of how great your life is when you need a quick pick-me-up. As a bonus, it’ll help you develop a habit of focusing more on the positives in any situation.
Don’t try for perfection. Have fun. Let it evolve with you so that you can see how far you’ve come from when you started.
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4. Paper art:
Take a 10″ x 10″ sheet of paper (old scrap paper will also do). Fold it accordion style or any way you please. Once you are done, use scissors to cut and take out different sized chunks out of the paper. Then, unfold it to reveal the amazing design you created.
Create a scrapbook for your designs if you wish. Creating paper art is one of the fun stress relief activities that works on many levels.
Remember how much you liked using the sneaked away scissors on paper as a child? It brings back happy childhood memories. It also relaxes the brain with simple activity and distracts the analytical stressing out part of the brain with focusing on the action in hand.
Related:
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5. Clay it up:
Get your hands dirty with modeling clay or just enjoy the squishy goodness of play dough. Who said play dough is only for kids? I can mix, match & squish the life out of play dough any time of day, especially when stressed out.
Roll it up into a ball over & over again. Watch the colors mix. Focus on the feeling of moldable, soft, cool play dough in your hands. When you focus on the present action in hand, stress fades away. The therapeutic effects of colors is an added benefit!
If you’re working with modeling clay, shape it up into abstract forms. Who knows but you might just end up with something you’re really proud of! Your efforts at focusing on this creative action will make it hard for your analytical brain to stress out. Simply watching what your hands are doing, frees up the mind to relax and unwind.
Related:
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Now, some (or most) of these stress relief activities might sound childish, but you know what? It doesn’t actually matter! As long as it’s de-stressing & you don’t have to give a public performance, it should be absolutely fine.
Mental peace & physical health are closely interlinked. Managing stress with simple stress relief activities & daily care is the best way to stop it escalating into serious health issues. There is a huge number of suggestions to choose from. Pick & select the ones that you like, try them out & select the ones that suit you best.
So, tell me are you still sticking with your initial list of 5 relaxation techniques or are you now pumped up to find more versatile & fun stress relief activities?
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These are great tips and things to try! I’ll def use them!
I find that if I am feeling really stressed out then I need to start working out or take a nice long walk.
When I need relaxation I stay up at night with my journal and I write. I have many ways in which I relax but if I feel sad or I have something on my mind I prefer writing. It helps a lot to see my thoughts on paper.
Writing down thoughts does really help with stress Larisa. For me, writing down everything going on in my mind when thoughts are just racing helps clear things up quite a lot.
There are really so many ideas for relaxation but my fav one is creating arts or drawing. I like drawing sketches.
You brought back old memories color books and clay. Good old times. Just reading this post brought a smile on my face. I would like to spare time for such activities.
Definitely needed these activities today!!! Thank you for posting and allowing us to start our day right
Those were a great list of activities. This is something that I really need to relieve my anxiety.
Thanks for sharing this. I so need these techniques myself.
I’m not that creative but I can’t swear by journaling the my life has been improved since I started to. I used to hate where I work but now, I don’t want to leave. Journaling helped me see the many good sides of my job. Everyone should.
Very true…I was skeptical about whether journaling would even be helpful before I started, but once you get in the habit of keeping one you can feel the change yourself.
These are great relaxing tips. I have found coloring with my toddler’s is a great stress reliever for me. I’ll have to try building something their play doe next time. They would love the extra play time with me. Thank you for sharing.
haha…relaxation and quality parenting time rolled in one…great idea
Good topic. I always need quick and easy little stress relievers. I like the create something…that always eases my mind.
Coloring pages works wonders for many people. I like them too but I have to admit for me it is more of relaxation but has nothing to do with me when I am stressed. I am moving stressed person so if I am actually stressed some sweat is the only working thing. Go for a run to relax I say to myself.
You’re right…the trick is to find what works for YOU. For some, doing puzzles help while (like for a friend of mine) mind-numbingly tough exercise routine works : )
We’ve been doing puzzles as a family – I cannot tell you how much it takes your mind off daily stresses and increases focus. SO good. Enjoyed this post!
Thanks Susan 🙂
Wow I love this!!! It is so important we take time to distress. Thanks for sharing!
I really like your tips for stress relief! My problem is I am too much “in my head” and when I’m stressed I can’t turn my brain off – so I need to do something that turns it off. Either a REALLY tough workout, you know the kind where you can’t think about anything else… or a fun puzzle/crossword that gives me something different to focus my mind on. So important to find what works for you!
Very true Emmeline… the important thing is finding out what works for you
I love coloring books, it’s really time consuming and stress reliecing cuz your gonna focus on just one thing. Coloring..
So amazing. I love these ideas for relaxing.
The usuals but effective. Thanks for the reminder. Really helpful especially when stressed out
I love using clay as a stress reliever. Being able to do something with my hands is a nice distraction from everyday activities.
A foot massage is totally the way to get me to relax!! Yes, yes it is!
doing something creative is my go-to stress reliever! I usually do it in the form of writing 🙂